Kennewick High School is a public high school located in eastern Kennewick, Washington. It was founded in 1904 to serve the educational needs of the new city of Kennewick. It is one of only a few schools to have its music department honored with the title of "Grammy Signature School". The school is part of the Kennewick School District. The current building, constructed in 1954 and originally named Edwin S. Black Senior High School, is located at 500 S. Dayton St., and incorporates the remainder of the second high school building, which until 1966 served as Park Junior High School (now known as Park Middle School) as an annex. Both buildings were renovated in the mid-1990s, the annex first, then the main building. The first building has long since been demolished, the location became until 1994 the location of Kennewick School District 17's administration. For 64 years until the founding of Kamiakin High School, Kennewick High School served as the sole high school in the city. Its colors are orange and black, and its mascot is a

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphi ...

. Football and soccer games are played at Neil F. Lampson Stadium, which is located on the high school's grounds and is shared by both Kamiakin and Southridge High School.

Athletics

Recently, because of a change in enrollment accounting by the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association, Kennewick High, along with Southridge, was reclassified as a 3A school. As a result, the Columbia Basin Big 9 Conference (which consisted of 11 schools), was reconfigured into the Mid Columbia Conference. The new conference now consists of 8 schools; four 3A and four 4A. Kennewick High is in the 3A division, along with Southridge and Hanford High School. The 4A division consists of Kamiakin, Richland High School, Pasco High School, Walla Walla High School, and Chiawana High School. Kennewick High School has a traditional rivalry with Kamiakin High School, however in recent years both schools have become bigger rivals with Southridge High School than with each other.

Fight song

The school's fight song, ''"Onward Kennewick"'', is based upon the University of Wisconsin–Madison's fight song, '' (as well as the Wisconsin state song) " On, Wisconsin!"'', with the words 'Onward Kennewick' replacing 'On, Wisconsin', as well as minor changes in the lyrics, depending on whatever sport season it was. Otherwise, the song's lyrics are the same. ''Onward Kennewick, onward Kennewick''
''Lions, fight for fame''
''Pass the ball right down the field (court) boys''
''Touchdown (Basket) ev'ry time!''
''Onward Kennewick, onward Kennewick'' ''Lions, fight for fame''
''Fight, Lions, fight-fight-fight''
''To win this game!'' ''K! E! N! NEW! I! C! K!''
''(rah-rah-rah)'' ''(next two stanzas unspoken)
'' ''Fight, lions, fight-fight-fight'' ''To win this game!!!''

Notable alumni

* Adam Carriker,

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

player for the Washington Redskins, former player for the Nebraska Cornhuskers * Michael Farris, founder and

Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

of Patrick Henry College, founder and

chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

of the

Homeschool Legal Defense Association The Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) is a United States-based organization that seeks to aid homeschooling families through legal representation. HSLDA describes itself as a "Christian organization." HSLDA is organized as a 501(c) ...

constitutional lawyer Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as the basic rights of citizens and, in feder ...

* Ray Mansfield, 2x

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...

winner for the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

, former Hall of Fame player for the Washington Huskies * Leilani Mitchell, WNBA player on the Washington Mystics *

Russ Swan Russell Howard Swan (January 3, 1964 – April 26, 2006) was an American professional baseball relief pitcher who played from 1989 through 1994 for the San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners and Cleveland Indians of Major League Baseball (MLB). ...

, Former MLB player ( San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners, Cleveland Indians)

Hall of Fame

In 2010, Kennewick High School started their Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame committee of Kennewick High School selects inductees from a pool of nominations submitted by the community. Requirements included having excelled in the arts, science, athletics, the military or in community service after graduation. * Michael Farris, United States constitutional lawyer, founder of the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) and Patrick Henry College, Class of '69 *Blanche Dickinson Pratt, co-founder of the East Benton County Historical Society, Class of '21 *John Dexter Smith, inventor, Class of '43 * Ray Mansfield, 2x

winner for the

, Class of '59, Hall of Fame player for the Washington Huskies *Jim Jesernig, politician, Class of '75

References

External links

Kennewick High SchoolKennewick High School football
{{authority control High schools in Benton County, Washington Schools in Kennewick, Washington Educational institutions established in 1904 Public high schools in Washington (state) 1904 establishments in Washington (state)